In a legal victory Thursday, California secured $200 million in pandemic recovery school funding that the Trump administration had refused to provide.
The Department of Education notified the state and 16 others in March that the Trump administration had rescinded access to millions in federal money earmarked to combat the pandemic’s impact on students across the nation.
The recovery funds had been previously approved and awarded to the states from the department and were supposed to be available until March 2026, but the Department of Education abruptly changed course, a lawsuit from the 17 impacted states alleged.
The states won a preliminary injunction in May preventing the federal government from rescinding access to the funds while litigation proceeded. But in a surprise turn, Bonta’s office announced Thursday that the Department of Education backed down from its effort the rescind the funds, instead agreeing to allocate the remaining funds as previously planned.
According to the states’ suit, the Trump administration said the change was made because the pandemic has already ended so the funding “is not consistent with the department’s priorities and thus not a worthwhile exercise of its discretion.”
California Attorney General Rob Bonta said the “unlawful” rescission not only violated federal law and exceeded the education department’s authority, but would cause “immediate and devastating harm” to school districts in California who relied on the funds to support after-school and summer learning initiatives, educational technology and mental health services and support for students.
“President Trump should not be playing games with the academic future of our children — but when he does and when he breaks the law to do so, we’ll see him in court,” said Attorney General Bonta in a statement Thursday. “This reversal by the Trump Administration is a huge win for California schools that are relying on this funding to support struggling students and ensure their academic success. It means they do not have to wait for litigation to play out and can confidently spend down this grant funding today. We’re continuing to secure full and final relief for Californians across a number of our lawsuits — and we’re just getting started.”
Bonta’s office said the stipulated agreement, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, leaves in place the preliminary injunction secured by California and other states until all of the funding at issue in the lawsuit is disbursed, effectively resolving the lawsuit in the states’ favor.
The rescinded funds marked the latest attempt by the Trump administration to withhold California education dollars. In June, the administration alerted the state that nearly $1 billion in education funding was being withheld from the state for allegedly promoting a “left-wing” agenda. The Trump administration reversed course shortly after amid growing outrage and concern about the impacts to students across the nation.
The administration has also threatened to withhold federal education funding to California schools over the state’s policies on transgender athletes and ordered California schools and colleges to dismantle diversity programs and practices or risk losing federal funding.